Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The people of Aceh have spoken. They voted for independent candidates Irwandi Yusuf and running mate Muhammad Nazar for governor and deputy governor, in the first ever direct democratic elections in this once-troubled territory.

Irwandi comes from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which in August 2005 signed a historic peace agreement with the Indonesian government in Helsinki. Nazar had been a student leader who actively campaigned for a referendum to determine the future of Aceh during the politically turbulent years.

The pair polled 38 percent of the 2.1 million votes cast, while their nearest rivals only collected 13 percent.

The two ran as independent candidates because no existing political parties would have nominated them. These existing parties, all Jakarta-based, nominated the other six pairs of candidates who contested the gubernatorial election. GAM would probably have been the political vehicle of choice for Irwandi and Nazar if the group had been allowed to nominate candidates.

The establishment of local political parties, regional-based as opposed to national-based, is one of the terms of the Helsinki deal. This was seen as a concession that would allow GAM to transform into a political party able to fight for its interests (anything short of independence) at the ballot box. But before local parties can be established, the House of Representatives in Jakarta must first finish drafting and then pass the necessary legislation.

In no other part of Indonesia can a person run for office as an independent candidate. Every one, whether in national or local elections, must be nominated by an established political party. The only exception is for candidates running for the Senate-like Regional Representatives Council.

But given what is happening in Aceh other provinces in the country may soon be vying for the same privilege of allowing independent candidates, free from ties to political parties, to run in elections and even to establish their own regional political parties.

And why shouldn't they? Last month's gubernatorial election in Aceh, whose final results were announced just before the end of the year, confirmed the old adage that all politics is local.

Remove the independence element from GAM and they, or rather their nominees, are still seen by the Acehnese as the best people to represent, articulate and fight for their interests.

Candidates chosen by big party bosses in Jakarta stand very little chance precisely because they are seen as representing the interests of Jakarta.

The vote for GAM does not necessarily mean that voters share the independence sentiments of the group's founders.

Voters in Aceh don't necessarily comprehend what the two independent candidates represent politically, and the pair does not have any sort of track record to indicate they can lead a regional administration.

But the results of the election in many respects showed voters' disdain toward Jakarta and all that it represents. And the political parties are seen as nothing more than an extension of the interests of the party bosses in Jakarta. More than anything, Aceh represents the deep mistrust that voters have for political parties.

This is a sentiment that is not necessarily specific to Aceh. In many other provinces, people have nothing but contempt for political parties. In the 2004 presidential election, 62 percent of voters nationwide cast ballots for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a non-partisan candidate who established his own Democratic Party to run for office.

But it is in representing the interests of the regions that the national political parties have failed the most. Hence, the vote in Aceh. And it would not be surprising that if given the chance, people in other regions would also vote against Jakarta.

Remember, this country went through a series of bloody armed rebellions in the 1950s because of regional discontent over Jakarta's iron-fisted rule. The military managed to suppress the rebellions by force, but it could not kill the aspirations for a better deal and a fairer share of the cake.

Jakarta should consider itself lucky that only in Aceh and Papua have separatist sentiments been translated into armed insurgencies. Just because other provinces have not taken up arms does not mean they do not share the discontent at being used and being exploited by Jakarta.

For Jakarta-based political parties, the chief lesson from the elections in Aceh is that they had better start paying heed to the wishes and aspirations of the regions.

They have to stop treating the regions as simply part of the "floating mass" that can be mobilized to get the vote out every five years, only to be forgotten once elections are over. And they have to stop nominating politicians from Jakarta to take up seats at national or local legislatures.

They need to start grooming local politicians who rise through the local ranks, and prepare them to represent the parties at the local and national levels. Most of all, they need to remember that at the end of the day, all politics is local.